Species profile

Honey Gourami

Trichogaster chuna

Common names: Honey Gourami, Sunset Gourami, Red Honey Gourami

Recognized speciesGouramis

Adult size

Up to 5.5 cm

Typical adult length 4–5.5 cm.

Up to 5.5 cm

Countries of origin

Good fit for your tank?

Good fit for

A peaceful planted community
A beginner choosing a first gourami
Calm tankmates such as small tetras and corydoras

Think carefully if

Your tank has boisterous or fin-nipping fish
Your filter creates strong surface flow
You want an active fish that is always on show

A small, gentle gourami from the Ganges and Brahmaputra systems. It is one of the most peaceful gouramis and an excellent centrepiece for a planted community.

Appearance and Identification

A small oval fish. Females are brownish with a broad midlateral stripe. Males look similar outside breeding, with an orange tint, and turn bright orange with dark blue to black heads when in spawning colour.

Golden and red-orange line-bred forms are the same species. Its small size and calm nature separate it from the Dwarf Gourami.

Females are brownish, larger, and have a broad brownish stripe. Non-breeding males have a similar stripe with an orange body, while breeding males are bright orange with dark heads.

Tank Requirements

Suggested filter: About 110–170 litres an hour
Suggested heater: About 50–75 W for this tank
Minimum tank volume: 55 litres
Minimum tank length: 60 cm
Minimum group size: 2
Recommended group size: 5
Activity level: Low
Flow preference: Low
Planting preference: Heavily planted
Hiding places: Yes
Lid recommended: Yes
Jumping risk: Low

Use dense plants with floating cover and low flow. A lid helps to keep the air above the water warm.

Behaviour and Tankmates

Gentle and curious, and often more confident when it can see other peaceful fish in the tank.

Keep as a pair or as a small group of 4 to 6, with enough plants to give each fish space.

Mildly territorial during breeding, but rarely aggressive.

Very good with small tetras, rasboras, corydoras, and otocinclus. Avoid fin nippers and larger, boisterous fish. Adult shrimp are usually fine, but shrimplets may be eaten.

Check tankmates for this species

Water Parameters

Temperature: 22–27 °C
pH: 6–7.5
GH: 2–15
Stability importance: Normal

Adapts to soft and moderately hard water. Keep nitrate low and avoid sudden temperature drops.

Parameter caveat

Gouramis breathe air from the surface, so keep the surface accessible and the air above it warm with a lid.

Feeding

Diet types: Insectivore, Omnivore
Feeding frequency: Once or twice daily
Preferred foods: Small floating pellets or quality flakeThese fish feed readily from the surface. Choose a small size and feed sparingly.
Frozen or live daphnia and brine shrimpOffer a few times a week for variety and condition.
Frozen bloodworm or mosquito larvaeUse as an occasional rich treat rather than a daily food.

An omnivore that picks at small invertebrates and plant matter, and takes small foods at the surface.

Use small foods, and make sure faster tankmates do not take everything first.

Breeding

Breeding type: Bubble Nest
Breeding difficulty: Moderate
Brood or egg count: Typically dozens to a few hundred small eggs
Incubation: 1 days
Parental care: Bubble-nest care
Baby foods: Infusoria or parameciumEssential for the first days, because labyrinth fry are tiny and cannot yet take larger food.
Vinegar eels or microwormsIntroduce as the fry grow, and offer in small amounts to protect water quality.
Newly hatched brine shrimpIntroduce once the fry can swallow it, usually after one to two weeks.

A bubble-nesting fish that forms temporary pairs. The male builds the nest and guards the eggs, which hatch in about 24 to 36 hours. Fry become free-swimming 24 to 48 hours later and need the smallest foods.

Habitat and Origin

Geographic origin: Bangladesh, Captive Bred, India, Nepal, South Asia
Natural habitat: Pond, Slow River, Swamp, Vegetated Shoreline
Aquarium contexts: Breeding Aquarium, Planted Aquarium
Audience level: Beginner

Classification

Profile type: Recognized species
Genus: Trichogaster
Family: Osphronemidae
Species group: Fish, Gouramis

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Good fit for your tank?

Good fit for

Think carefully if

Appearance and Identification

Tank Requirements

Behaviour and Tankmates

Water Parameters

Feeding

Breeding

Habitat and Origin

Classification

Have you kept this species?

Other Gouramis

Licorice Gourami

Moonlight Gourami

Mottled Ctenopoma

Ornate Ctenopoma

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